Images of Boston

Boston is only a 40 minute trek away from me, so I don't know why I fail to visit more often.  On the evening of Saturday, July 27, 2013, I drove up to Quincy and took the subway to Prudential Station.  With my camera and tripod, I endeavored on an adventure of the soul.   

French photographer Marc Riboud noted that "taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second."  I find photography to be a spiritual activity, particularly when capturing images of urban and natural landscapes.  It is a calming experience in which I can infinitely appreciate singular moments.

This particular writing is a journal of an evening in just a small part of Boston near the Prudential Center and the Christian Science Plaza.  There is so much more of Boston to breathe in. 

It was an hour before the sun would set.  From Prudential Station, I took the elevator to the fiftieth floor of the Prudential Tower, where you can take in 360 degrees of views of the city of Boston from the Skywalk Observatory.  There is an admission fee, although with a Massachusetts Teachers Association card, there is no charge.  I sadly had to part temporarily with my tripod, as I was informed those are not permitted.  The observatory is fully enclosed with glass, which adds the challenge of smudges, scratches, and reflections.  Night photography is challenging enough without the glass.

I carried in a camera bag my Canon Digital Rebel, 18-55mm and 70-300mm lenses, a camera remote control, and a rubber lens hood.  The camera remote enables you to release the shutter without touching the camera, thus avoiding camera shake.  The rubber lens hood reduces the amount of glare and unwanted reflections getting into the picture.  Without my tripod, it was more difficult to capture the images I wanted.  Thankfully, my camera bag was sturdy enough to balance my camera, although positioning proved to be tricky.

The setting sun lit the western facades of buildings with a rich saturation of color that's very satisfying.  Skyscrapers (i.e., 111 Huntington Avenue and the John Hancock Tower), Fenway Park, the classic Citgo sign, the Christian Science Center, and the red-bricked Bostonian buildings dotted the landscape.  The brief time after sunset was my favorite, as city lights came on but a bit of sunlight remained.  As night fell, it was more challenging to take good photographs through the glass.

That's why the Christian Science Plaza was a perfect location to visit afterwards.  Clear skies, no glass interfering other than the camera lens itself, and gorgeous scenery!  A long rectangular reflecting pool stands by the Christian Science Center.  Serendipity stepped in as fireworks were set off for a few seconds at the tail end of a five-second photograph I was taking of the center.  All in all, I spent just over three hours "savoring" life.

Here are a few of the photographs I took in Boston that evening:

My favorite photo of the evening: John Hancock Tower, and just to the right in the sky,
you can see the light trail of a plane taking off from Logan Airport

The Christian Science Publishing Society;
the blue lighting drew me right in!

Serendipitous fireworks exploded in the skies
behind the Christian Science Center

Fenway Park

The setting sun saturated these towering buildings with rich light

A wide view of Boston;
the Trinity Church of Copley Square can be seen in the lower right

111 Huntington Avenue skyscraper towers above residential buildings

The iconic Citgo sign in Kenmore Square

Reflections at the Christian Science Center

What Would It Be Like?

I have a strange, personal confession to make.  On occasion, I enjoy letting my brain go to another time, such as the U.S. Civil War era.  I nerdishly endeavor to imagine being a person (usually male, since that's easier for me) from that historical context; then I bring him to the present day.  That's where I let my introverted brain marinate.

It is July 1863.  He stands proudly for a portrait.  He will give the tintype photograph to his newly wedded wife to remember him by until he comes home again, should Providence safely guide him through this damned war.  The camera faces him in the bright daylight as the seconds pass.  Nearby, a soldier of his same Massachusetts regiment takes a rifle and carefully aims at a practice target.  Unaware of this, he maintains his easy gaze into the camera when the soldier's gun shot rings out.  The sound surprises him but not before the whoosh of time unravels and mysteriously drops him 150 years into the future. 

The rifle's shot still echoes in his ears.  But instead of a photographer before him, there now stands an imposing tower.  What is this monstrosity?  This is no man-made work of iron.  He does not know that the strange structure with a blinking light at the top sends out radio waves that others will be able to hear with the help of a stereo.

Heavens!  Something blurs by him.  It is much smaller than a locomotive.  No thick smoke escapes it.  It moves but seems quiet.  It's a Prius.

With a cell phone, a passerby take a quick photo of him, ignorantly asking him the question, "Is there a Revolutionary War re-enactment happening in town?"  Eighty-five years separate those two wars.  This fool has no educated sense of history.  A young girl nearby sets off a firecracker, sending the faux paparazzo into a momentary state of shock, and the man's cell phone jumps into the air.   

It's all too much for this man of God.  Moments before the confusion might send him into a fainting spell, he is suddenly back in 1863.  Near his boots, the cell phone lies there on the ground.

An image can be seen on the now-cracked screen of the phone.  Almighty!  This image on this supernatural tool is of him!  And that ominous tower with the blinking light can be seen behind him in it.

Oh, how a seconds-long gaze can brew such an imagination as this.